Jeff Minter is an English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the name Yak. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and has created dozens of games during his career, which began in 1981 with games for the ZX80. Minter's games are shoot 'em ups which contain titular or in-game references demonstrating his fondness of ruminants. Many of his programs also feature something of a psychedelic element, as in some of the earliest "light synthesizer" programs including Trip-a-Tron.
The Bard's Tale is a fantasy role-playing video game designed and programmed by Michael Cranford for the Apple II. It was produced by Interplay Productions in 1985 and distributed by Electronic Arts. The game was ported to the Commodore 64, Apple IIGS, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Macintosh, and NES. It spawned The Bard's Tale series of games and books. The earliest editions of the game used a series title of Tales of the Unknown, but this title was dropped for later ports of The Bard's Tale and subsequent games in the series.
Defender of the Crown is a strategy video game designed by Kellyn Beeck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games.
Paradroid is a Commodore 64 computer game written by Andrew Braybrook and published by Hewson Consultants in 1985. It is a shoot 'em up with puzzle elements and was critically praised at release. The objective is to clear a fleet of spaceships of hostile robots by destroying them or taking them over via a mini-game. It was later remade as Paradroid 90 for the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST home computers and as Paradroid 2000 for the Acorn Archimedes. There exist several fan-made remakes for modern PCs. In 2004 the Commodore 64 version was re-released as a built-in game on the C64 Direct-to-TV, and in 2008 for the Wii Virtual Console in Europe.
B.C.'s Quest for Tires is an horizontally scrolling video game designed by Rick Banks and Michael Bate and published by Sierra On-Line in 1983. Versions were released for the Commodore 64, IBM PC, Atari 8-bit family, ColecoVision, ZX Spectrum, MSX, and Apple II. Based on the comic strip B.C. by Johnny Hart, BC's Quest for Tires is similar to Irem's Moon Patrol from the previous year. The title is a play on the title of the contemporaneous film Quest for Fire. A sequel, Grog's Revenge, was released in 1984.
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional bitmap that is integrated into a larger scene, most often in a 2D video game. Originally, the term sprite referred to fixed-sized objects composited together, by hardware, with a background. Use of the term has since become more general.
Mercenary is a 3D action-adventure game written for the Atari 8-bit family and published by Novagen Software in 1985. It was converted to the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Amiga and Commodore 16/116/Plus/4 platforms. The game uses vector graphics renderings of vast, sparse environments and has open-ended gameplay. It was also released as Mercenary: Escape from Targ and Mercenary: A Flight Simulator Adventure.
Turrican is a 1990 video game developed by Manfred Trenz. It was developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, and was ported to other systems later. In addition to concept design and character creation, Trenz programmed Turrican on the Commodore 64. A sequel, Turrican II: The Final Fight, followed in 1991 for the Commodore 64 and other platforms.
The Blues Brothers is a platform game based on the band The Blues Brothers, where the object is to evade police and other vigilantes to get to a blues concert. The game was released for IBM PC, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Commodore 64, and Atari ST in 1991, and for the NES and Game Boy in 1992. It was created by Titus France. A sequel, The Blues Brothers: Jukebox Adventure, was released for the SNES in 1993 and for IBM PC compatibles and the Game Boy in 1994. The theme music of the video game is an electronic arrangement of Peter Gunn. Zzap!64 ranked the Commodore 64 port the eighth-best all-time Commodore 64 game in 1993, and the game was the best platformer for PC, Atari ST and Amiga consoles of 1991 of Zero journalist David Wilson.
Last Ninja is a series of video games published by System 3. The first game in the series titled The Last Ninja, was released in 1987 for the Commodore 64 and was one of the most successful games for the system. In 1988, System 3 released Last Ninja 2, and in 1991 the third game in the series, Last Ninja 3. In 1990, Last Ninja Remix was released for 8-bit systems. This was Last Ninja 2 with new music, a new introductory sequence, slightly changed graphics and fixed bugs. Confusingly, the 16-bit versions of the original The Last Ninja game were also released in 1990 as Ninja Remix.
Shoot-'Em-Up Construction Kit is a game creation system for the Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST created by Sensible Software and published by Outlaw in 1987. It allows the user to make simple shoot 'em ups by drawing sprites and backgrounds and editing attack patterns. The advertising promoted the Kit with the phrase "By the programmers of Wizball and Parallax".
Montezuma's Revenge is a 1984 platform game for Atari 8-bit family, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Apple II, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, IBM PC, and ZX Spectrum. It was designed and programmed by Robert Jaeger and published by Parker Brothers. The game's title references a colloquial expression for diarrhea contracted while visiting Mexico.
War in Middle Earth is a real-time strategy game released for the ZX Spectrum, MSX, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MS-DOS, Amiga, Apple IIGS, and Atari ST in 1988 by Virgin Mastertronic on the Melbourne House label.
Creatures II: Torture Trouble is a platform game for the Commodore 64 computer, released in 1992. It was developed by Apex Computer Productions, the company started by two brothers, John Rowlands and Steve Rowlands. It is the sequel to Creatures.
Warhawk is a vertically scrolling shooter published in 1986 by Firebird software. It was released for the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit family, Amstrad CPC, and Atari ST.
Aztec Challenge refers to either of two early action video games published by COSMI, as well as two subsequent remakes. In all game versions the player takes control of a running Aztec warrior. The first was a side-scrolling platform-jumping game created by Robert Tegel Bonifacio and released in 1982 for the Atari 8-bit family. Subsequently, a different game with the same title and overall theme was created by Paul Norman and released for the Commodore 64. It includes a level in a modified-first-person 3D-style.
Tomcat is a video game published in 1989 in the UK by Players Software. The game was released on the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Commodore 16, Commodore Plus/4, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum as a budget title. It was also on a Your Sinclair magazine cover tape. Tomcat is a vertically scrolling shooter in which the player takes control of an F14 Tomcat fighter aircraft, shooting at both air and ground targets whilst flying over four levels.
Spy vs. Spy II: The Island Caper is a 1985 video game. It is the sequel to Spy vs. Spy.
Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Computer Game is a 1990 scrolling shoot 'em up video game developed by Core Design. It was released by Virgin Games the Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and the ZX Spectrum. It is loosely based on material and characters from the 1970s British comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, in particular the Gumby character.
